


A Final Moment

by unknowableroom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-28
Updated: 2011-05-28
Packaged: 2019-01-19 23:26:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12420402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknowableroom_archivist/pseuds/unknowableroom_archivist
Summary: Petunia is happily living her life when her sister, as usual, comes to disturb it.





	A Final Moment

**Author's Note:**

> Note from ChristyCorr, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Unknowable Room](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Unknowable_Room), a Harry Potter archive active from 2005-2016. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after May 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Unknowable Room collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/unknowableroom).

“Darling,” Petunia Dursley yelled as she ran to the front door to welcome her husband. Petunia kissed Vernon soundly on the lips before pulling away his briefcase and taking his coat. “How was your day?”

 

Vernon’s large belly that rivaled his wife’s pregnant one jiggled as he haughtily walked into the kitchen. “It was a rough one, Petunia, a very rough one,” he told her gruffly, his large mustache twitching. 

 

After depositing Vernon’s things into their rightful place in the closet, Petunia met her husband in the kitchen. He was already seated, awaiting his favorite supper, and ever the dutiful wife despite her seven-month pregnant belly making her mobility slightly more difficult than usual, Petunia served dinner and sat next to her husband.

 

“This looks wonderful, darling,” Vernon told her lovingly, patting her engorged belly before digging into the rack of lamb laid before him. 

 

Glowing, Petunia took a helping of potatoes and cabbage and smiled.

 

Life was just as she had always imagined it would be with Vernon. Being Mrs. Dursley was the greatest job she had ever been given, and the thought of not only being a wife but soon a mother made Petunia Dursley smile as radiantly as she possibly could.

 

Growing up, she had always felt inadequate despite her parents’ protests that they loved her the way she was and that they were proud of everything she did. 

 

No, Petunia never felt she lived up to the perfection and overall excellence of her younger sister, Lily. 

 

While Petunia was skeleton thin and plain, Lily was athletic and radiant. Petunia was cursed with mud brown eyes while her sister’s eyes were lauded for their rich green color. Despite great efforts, Petunia never quite excelled in school the way Lily did – she just couldn’t get herself above all the rest.

 

But in the end, Lily Evans had turned out to be a freak, a _witch_ of all things. At the time, Petunia’s jealousy was formidable; she had desperately wanted to share that achievement with her sister and attend the school as well, but after a thoughtful letter had been sent to the Headmaster and been rejected, Petunia’s jealousy turned into dislike and dislike turned quickly into hatred, and that hatred had stuck throughout all these years.

 

That hatred had led to Petunia simply ignore the existence of her sister. When they still lived together at home, Lily would attempt conversation, but she was quickly rebuffed. Finally, the two moved out on their own, and Petunia ignored all attempts at contact. When Petunia got married two years ago, Lily was told not to come because freaks like her did not fit into the life Petunia and Vernon Dursley were going to build for themselves. And when Petunia discovered she was pregnant, she had not bothered to tell her sister because she knew that her child would grow up _normal_ and did not need to be in contact with people who could possibly taint his innocent mind. 

 

Now, after three years of not speaking, Petunia felt nothing but happiness. Her life was perfectly normal, just the way she liked it. 

 

“And then, the ruddy idiot dropped the drill on my foot!” Vernon told his wife through bites of lamb and potatoes. Petunia shook her head in derision at the idiot worker. “Bloody fools, some of these boys in the factory – don’t know how to work as a team, I told my boss today. He agreed, of course, and now, he wants me to work on finding people who could really help the company.”

 

“Oh, darling, that’s wonderful!” she exclaimed, clasping her husband’s hand tightly. He looked satisfied as she handed him another piece of lamb and dumped the rest of the roasted potatoes onto his dish. He was such a strong, hungry man.

 

“How was your day today, Petunia? Anything exciting happen?” Vernon asked, swallowing his meat before taking a long swig of ale that had been set out before him. Petunia knew him too well sometimes.

 

With a smile, she said, “Oh, Vernon! This little boy kicked and kicked all day today. I think he’s going to be a star athlete someday, the way he’s moving around in there. I was gardening this morning, and when some of the neighborhood children ran by kicking around a football, he went positively mad!”

 

Vernon gave his wife a smile and put his hand upon her belly. “That’s my boy. He’s going to be a great young man someday.”

 

“He’ll grow up to be like his father,” she said lovingly. Vernon smiled again and kissed her on the cheek. 

 

The two sat there for a few moments, Vernon with his hand on Petunia’s belly and Petunia smiling down at his hand before being interrupted by the doorbell. Their heads shot up simultaneously, and they looked at each other.

 

“Who could that possibly be?” Petunia asked, struggling to get out of the chair.

 

“No, no, you sit,” Vernon told her gruffly, standing and walking towards the door. “If it’s those bloody men trying to sell more papers, I’m going to have to call the police. Sick of them knocking on our door at ungodly hours.”

 

Petunia sighed and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes. Vernon would take care of those hooligans.

 

“Petunia,” she heard Vernon yell. Her eyes flew open, and she stood. “Petunia, there’s someone here for you.”

 

_How odd,_ Petunia thought.

 

“Well, invite them in, I suppose,” she responded, taking off her apron and flattening her shirt and skirt. If it was Mrs. Gundrun, she didn’t want her to see Petunia looking a fright; that woman always came over when Petunia had just woken up from a nap or hadn’t showered yet.

 

Petunia stood and began to make her way slowly to the door, but before she could waddle her way into the foyer, the kitchen door opened. Immediately, she frowned in shock. 

 

The visitor at the door was not Mrs. Gundrun as she had thought.

 

A woman walked through the door into the kitchen, and for a moment, Petunia was speechless. Standing in her spotless kitchen was her freak of a sister, now known as Lily Potter. The two girls stared at each other for a moment before a smile broke out on Lily’s face. She walked slowly towards her sister and stared down at her belly.

 

“Someone’s expecting a bundle quite soon,” Lily Potter said. She seemed to be ready to hug her sister, but Petunia took a step away from her. “Boy or girl?”

 

There was silence. Vernon’s beady eyes went between the two women before he coughed. “Petunia, would you like me to take your sister out of the house?”

 

Lily still looked at her sister, a smile on her pretty face and a twinkle in her eyes.

 

Swallowing, Petunia shook her head. “No, no, Vernon, if she’s come, there must be a reason.”

 

He nodded and after giving Lily one more withering look, Vernon left the room.

 

After the door to the kitchen shut, Petunia cleared her throat and narrowed her eyes. “What are you doing here?”

 

Lily seemed unfazed by the rudeness her sibling exhibited and simply looked around the room. She nodded towards the living room and walked in. “Shall we sit?” she asked before sitting down without an answer.

 

Petunia begrudgingly sat in a chair opposite her sister. “Well?” she asked before suddenly realizing something. She looked down at Lily’s own belly and saw that it too was large, just like Petunia’s. “You’re having a baby?” she asked, so surprised that no malice could be fit in the question.

 

A glowing smile filled Lily’s face, and she rested her hand on her stomach. “Yes, I’m expecting a little boy in July sometime. James is beyond excited; he’s already redecorated the baby’s room three times.”

 

A huff came out of Petunia’s mouth. _Of course_ , she thought. _Lily always had to steal my thunder._

 

“And you, Petunia?” she asked quietly. “When are you expecting your baby?”

 

“June,” she said shortly.

 

“And how is Vernon? Still working at Grunnings?” Lily asked.

 

Petunia nodded. “About to get a promotion, actually. He’s thriving in his business.”

 

Lily seemed genuinely happy to hear this news. “That’s wonderful, Petunia. It seems like you two are doing very well here; your house is lovely. Mum would be really proud to see you so happy.”

 

At this, Petunia said nothing.

 

“I’m doing well too, thanks for asking,” Lily said jovially. “James is working as an Auror now which is like a mix of a private investigator and a police officer. He’s very good at it. We used to work together before I got pregnant.”

 

Again, there was silence. 

 

“I have a cottage in a place called Godric’s Hollow. I wonder if you’ve heard of it, but James’ family used to live there, and we inherited the house when his parents passed away. It’s very beautiful,” Lily said, all the while smiling and rubbing her belly. It irked Petunia to see how happy she was.

 

“What are you doing here?” Petunia cut in. Lily’s eyes widened a bit. “We haven’t spoken for years, and suddenly, you show up at my door, asking all these questions about my life and rambling on about things I don’t care to hear.”

 

Lily sat back, and a fire set in my eyes. “I wanted to see you, Petunia, make sure you were alright.”

 

“What do you care? You have your perfect little freak family to raise, what do you care about me?” Petunia spat, moving uncomfortably in her chair. 

 

“You’re my sister,” Lily said, obviously containing her anger. She always did have quite the short fuse. “You’re my blood, and despite the things that you’ve said to me, there is no changing the fact that you are the only blood relation I have left.”

 

Petunia ground her teeth and looked away.

 

“In addition to coming to check up on your well-being,” Lily told her calmly. “I wanted to warn you of something.”

 

“Warn me?” 

 

“Yes,” Lily spoke quietly now, as if she did not want others to hear. “Petunia, there is evil in this world that only people in my world know about, but it’s in your world too. Have you been watching the news lately?”

 

Petunia knew what she talking about. Mysterious deaths had been occurring all across England; whole families had been killed off, and no one knew how it was happening. Some speculated an expert serial killer while others thought that it was a plague. Petunia did not like to think about those things; she had her child and husband to worry about.

 

Lily seemed to take her silence as a yes. “All those killings, all those unexplained tragedies going on are not the work of some regular serial killer or natural disasters. That town that was blown up outside of London was not due to some unknown oil leak. Petunia, these people, nonmagical people, are being exterminated by a man named Voldemort.”

 

“Voldemort?” Petunia scoffed. “What kind of person has the named Voldemort?”

 

A laugh escaped Lily’s lips. “My sentiments exactly. I’ve grown rather fond of calling him Moldyshorts instead.”

 

For a moment, a smile spread across Petunia’s face, but the moment she realized what she was doing and who she was smiling at, it fell.

 

Lily sighed and continued. “I’ve come here to tell you that you must be very, very careful, Petunia. You and Vernon, if you can, must stay away from large gatherings and busy parts of town or London. Voldemort and his men will be targeting places like that.”

 

“You want us to just stay in the house all day?” Petunia asked annoyed. She loved going to parades in London!

 

“No,” Lily snapped. “I’m not asking you to stay in the house all day. All I’m asking is for you to be aware and to stay away from places where there will be a lot of people at once. That’s the kind of thing Voldemort lives for – large gatherings of defenseless Muggles, so he can kill you all.”

 

Petunia swallowed and looked down at her belly, thinking of the baby growing inside. 

 

“I’ve also come to offer you a guard,” Lily said. “Some friends of mine are willing to take you somewhere safe, you and Vernon both, somewhere where Voldemort couldn’t hurt you.”

 

“Absolutely not,” Petunia said at once.

 

“Petunia,” Lily began, but she was cut off.

 

“I will not leave my home and my life to go off with some of your freak friends,” she screeched before taking a deep breath. “No, the answer is no. Now, I must ask you to leave.”

 

“Petunia, please.”

 

“No,” she said venomously. “Just go, Lily.”

  
Petunia stood up, and Lily followed suit. They stared at each other for a few moments before Lily looked away. For a brief moment, Petunia examined her sister. She had grown since the last time they saw each other when Lily was 17. Her face looked fuller due to her pregnancy, but she was still vivaciously beautiful. Her red hair was richer and longer, still slightly unruly as it always had been, and her green eyes glowed more than they had. Petunia supposed magic had enhanced her beauty, not nature, and she shook her head at the thought.

 

“Alright,” Lily whispered. “I’ll leave if that’s what you want.”

 

“Yes, that’s what I want,” Petunia said. 

 

Petunia walked Lily to the door and opened it. She could hear Vernon rustling about upstairs, probably restless for dessert. 

 

“Petunia,” Lily said. She looked at her sister again. “I hope you know that I love you, and…” she said before pressing her lips together and looking away. When she looked back at her sister, Lily’s eyes were filled with tears. “And I just… Petunia, I may not make it through this war, so just always remember that I love you and nothing could ever possibly change that, not even the hatred you have for me.”

 

Before Petunia could respond, she was pulled into Lily’s arms. Their large belly’s made the hug quite awkward, but Petunia felt emotion bubble up inside her. Not make it through the war? What war?

 

Quickly, Lily pulled away and walked out the door. Petunia heard a pop and suddenly saw a tall, handsome man standing in the middle of the road waiting for Lily. James Potter gave a nod to Petunia before pulling his wife to him. She saw him pull an old hairbrush out of his pocket and look around. They were going to disappear in a moment…

 

“Lily!” Petunia yelled, moving quickly out of the house.

 

Lily looked up – her head had been burrowed in her husband’s shoulder – and stared at Petunia.

 

“Do me a favor and don’t do anything stupid,” she told Lily, her voice rough from emotion. “I don’t want to take care of little Potter if you two die.”

 

Lily laughed softly and clung to James. “I promise I won’t, Pet.”

 

Satisfied and slightly embarrassed, Petunia turned and began to move back to her house where Vernon was standing in the doorway, a piece of pie already in his hand and the telephone in his hand.

 

“Oh, and Petunia,” Lily called. Petunia turned and waited. “His name is going to be Harry, Harry Potter.”

 

And with that, James and Lily disappeared. 

 

“Why was she here?” Vernon asked, taking a bite out of the pie Petunia had prepared earlier that day and hanging up the phone.

 

Petunia swallowed and looked out at the spot where her sister had just been. 

 

“Just some nonsense,” she told him, kissing him briefly on the cheek. “Nothing to worry about, we won’t be hearing from her again.”

 

Vernon nodded, pleased. He walked away and into the kitchen while Petunia continued to stare out at the street. 

 

She wondered when she would see Lily next, and she was surprised at the fact that she hoped it would be sooner rather than later.

 

“Petunia, darling, can you fetch me some more pie?” Vernon yelled. She heard the television click on.

 

“Yes, of course, love,” she responded before shutting the door.

_________  
  
_Petunia Dursley,_

_It is with great sadness and the deepest of condolences that I must inform you of the death of your sister, Lily Potter, and her husband James on the night of October 31…_

 

Petunia felt the letter fall from her hands and onto the floor next to the basket. The child inside let out a soft coo as he stared up at his aunt, and she turned away.

 

Dead.

 

Lily was dead.

 

Petunia felt the burn behind her eyes that alerted her tears were coming, but she pushed them away. She picked up the basket and stared at the child inside.

 

“Harry Potter,” she whispered. He must have heard her because his eyes opened slowly to reveal a brilliant green Petunia had only seen once before.

 

The burning grew stronger, and Petunia ripped open the cupboard beneath the stairs and placed the basket in the darkness.

 

She could not bear to stare at the boy one more second for the little boy, little Harry, had her sister’s eyes.


End file.
